What Ontario grade 6 students learn in the arts

Your child will be able to use everyday objects like fabric, chairs, or hula hoops in their dance creations, understanding how these props can add to their movements and tell a story.

Your child will be able to use dance moves to show important ideas from books or stories, like good versus evil, or bravery in a legend. They will learn a "movement vocabulary," which means using different body movements to express these ideas.

Your child will use guided improvisation, which is like making up dance moves on the spot with some rules, to help them create their own dances (choreography). They will try different activities like mirroring (copying someone else's moves), flocking (moving together like a group of birds), and body storming (quickly trying out many different movements) to get ideas for their dances.

Your child will be able to combine different dance movements and ideas to express various feelings or stories, such as using low, wavy movements to show someone trying to avoid something.

Your child will be able to understand and explain their own feelings and ideas about different dance performances, especially those that tell stories or explore important topics. They'll also learn to use dance words to talk about what they see.

Your child will be able to talk about how different parts of a dance, like the movements, music, and how dancers use space, help to tell a story or show an idea in their own dances and in dances by others. For example, they might learn that slow, flowing movements with soft music can create a dreamy feeling.

Your child will be able to recognize their strengths and areas where they can improve, both when creating dances (choreographing) and when watching them as an audience member. For example, they might think about how practicing helped a performance and what they could change to make future performances even better.

Your child will learn about different dances from Indigenous cultures, both old and new, and how these dances show who they are as a people. This includes dances for prayer, celebrations, healing, and modern powwow dances that help keep their culture strong.

Your child will be able to explain how popular culture and media, like TV shows or social media, affect what we know, understand, and enjoy about dance. They will learn how these influences can introduce us to different dance styles, show us how dance is used in various cultures, and even highlight male dancers as role models for a healthy lifestyle.

Your child will actively participate in drama activities and role-playing, exploring different topics, ideas, and themes from various stories and real-life situations, as well as from diverse cultures, time periods, and places.

Your child will be able to understand how to play a character convincingly by using details like where and when the story takes place, how characters relate to each other, and any conflicts they face. For example, they might play a judge or a lawyer in a courtroom scene.

Your child will be able to help guide a play or role-playing activity by suggesting new ideas and different ways of looking at things, both as a character and as themselves. For example, they might interview a main character ("protagonist") or opposing character ("antagonist") as if they were that character, or they might offer ideas during planning for a play.

Your child will be able to share their feelings, thoughts, and ideas with others by using sound, visuals, or technology to make a stronger impact on the audience. For example, they might use a projector to show powerful images, special lighting to create unique effects, music to set a mood, or masks to emphasize character traits.

Your child will be able to share their own feelings and opinions about plays they see or create, and connect these plays to important ideas and topics in their own life and the lives of others.

Your child will be able to pick out their favourite part of a play and explain why they liked it, using the right words to describe how different parts of the play (like characters, setting, or plot) made it good.

Your child will be able to recognize their strengths and interests in drama, as well as areas where they can improve, whether they are creating, performing, or watching a play. They will also be able to explain how they worked with others in a group.

Your child will learn about different types of drama and theatre from various cultures and time periods, including storytelling traditions from Indigenous communities like the Seven Grandfather Teachings or Haida tales.

Your child will learn about the important ways drama and theater contribute to our communities, like offering creative outlets for people, creating jobs, attracting tourists, and supporting healing in Indigenous communities.

Your child will be able to sing or play music from different cultures and time periods, either alone or with others, using written music. They will also learn to use instruments like recorders and percussion, and even technology, to play along with songs.

Your child will be able to use different musical elements like rhythm, melody, and harmony to sing, play instruments, or create their own music, understanding how these choices affect the overall sound. They will also learn to arrange existing music in new ways to achieve a particular feeling or effect.

Your child will be able to create their own music for different reasons and for different groups of people, such as writing a song inspired by a piece of art or creating a rhythmic piece to go along with a story.

Your child will be able to use musical skills and techniques when performing music. For example, they will be able to lead songs in 2/4 or 3/4 time, listen for how well different parts of the music blend together, and understand musical symbols and Italian words used in music.

Your child will be able to understand and use different ways of writing down music, like standard musical notation (the notes and symbols you typically see) and other creative ways to represent sounds. They will show this understanding by playing and creating their own music, which might include things like ledger lines (lines above or below the main staff for higher or lower notes) and triplets (three notes played in the time of two).

Your child will be able to share their detailed opinions about music they hear, whether it's live or recorded. They might do this by writing a review, keeping a journal of their thoughts, or even drawing what the music makes them feel.

Your child will be able to identify and explain how different parts of music, like rhythm (patterns of sounds and silences), instrument sounds, high or low notes (pitch), and loudness (dynamics), are used in the music they play, hear, and create.

Your child will be able to recognize what they are good at in music, such as composing or performing, and understand areas where they can get better. They will also learn to use feedback from others to improve their musical work.

Your child will understand how different cultures and the media can change the way people experience and enjoy music.

Your child will be able to compare music from different cultures or time periods, noticing what makes them similar and different. For example, they might compare music from the Baroque period (roughly 1600-1750) with music from the Classical period (roughly 1750-1820).

Your child will be able to create different kinds of art, like drawings, sculptures, or videos, to show their feelings, ideas, or thoughts about different topics. They will learn to express themselves through art from various perspectives.

Your child will understand how to arrange elements in their artwork (this is called composition) by using different art principles like balance or repetition. This helps them create art that tells a story or focuses on a specific idea. For example, they might use lighter and darker shades of the same color in a painting to make it look balanced, or repeat shapes in a drawing to create a sense of movement.

Your child will be able to use different art tools and techniques like shapes, colours, and lines to share thoughts or messages in their artwork. For example, they might create a poster for a fictional movie that uses bright colors and jagged lines to show it's an action film.

Your child will be able to use different art supplies, tools, and methods to solve creative problems. For example, they might use charcoal to draw a shaded face, make a collage with limited colors, paint a mural, create a print of an animal, build a sculpture from found objects, or make a digital photo montage.

Your child will be able to understand the messages, feelings, and ideas that different artworks are trying to share. They will also be able to explain how artists use elements like lines, colours, and brushstrokes to create these messages.

Your child will be able to explain how artists use things like lines, shapes, colours, and textures (which are called elements and principles of design) in their own art and the art of others to share ideas or feelings. For example, they might talk about how an artist uses rough textures to show strength or anger.

Your child will understand how to read and understand the meaning of signs, symbols, and artistic styles in different artworks. For example, they will learn how symbols are used to tell stories or send messages, like in Egyptian hieroglyphs, and how colors can have different meanings in various cultures.

Your child will be able to understand their own strengths and interests in art, as well as areas where they can improve, whether they are making art, looking at art, or thinking about art. They might do this by writing an artist's statement (a short text explaining their artwork), keeping a sketchbook, or giving feedback to classmates on their art.

Your child will learn how different types of art and art styles show what people believe and what their traditions are, depending on when and where they lived. They will understand that art can reflect a person's identity or be a record of human experiences.

Your child will understand how visual arts and media (like movies or advertising) are important in our communities and across Canada. They will learn how these arts provide jobs and opportunities for people to express themselves creatively.